For the first time in Russian: «the best British debut in the detective genre in years» (Crimescene Magazine), «noir as sharp as a razor, something quite extraordinary» (Lee Child).
Detective-constable Aidan Waits was caught stealing cocaine from a safe containing physical evidence. Now Aidan faces dismissal from the police—and maybe even time in court. It’s an excellent cover to infiltrate the drug network that has wrapped all of Manchester in its grip—known as the Franchise—and to identify within the police ranks the «mole» who, thanks to it, the Franchise and its leader, Zane Carver, have remained unpunished for ten years. And at the same time—quietly, unofficially—to try to bring Isabelle home: the minister of justice David Rossiter’s daughter, who has been missing for a month. They say she was seen in Fairview, Carver’s Victorian mansion. Aidan finds Isabelle—and realizes that the girl is terrified of something. Will he be able to save her if even he can’t save himself?